Banned in the USA ?

[Unruh]

There are a few versions of this story which I've heard. No matter what the actual truth, the end result pisses me off. There's no other group I want to see live as desperately as NMA, and thank them in person for being like family to me. The legend is that, during the blood-soaked reign of war criminal and mass murderer Chimpy McFlightsuit, New Model Army were actually barred from the country. That would be consistent with the vaunted 'courage' that pack of weasels were allegedly filled with. They feared a rock group. Sorry to disinter memories of the Bush years. But since my fellow citizens seem to have fallen prey to a collective amnesia about how terrible they truly were, I reckoned I should. Plus it may be directly be connected to my favorite band, as if I needed yet more one reason to hate GWB and his snakepit of accomplices.
    OT but I've only now learned of the death of Vincent Bugliosi. A bit belated but RIP, sir. I'm so sorry you never got to put Bush on the stand.

[Pol]

The truth is as far as I know, no doubt I will be corrected by a wiser family member. Is that whilst nma were banned in usa under probably cowboy Ronnie, they have been now accepted for their brilliance the bad news I'm sure that I heard Justin say in one of his interviews is that the band can't really afford to play America again at least at the moment, though I suspect that you may get the odd show , most likely imo a JS solo gig or JS & DW

[Amandistan]

I am fairly sure that rumor/ legend is  bullshit. They played in the US for the 30th anniversary tour and dates during the Bush administration.  They are not banned. It just costs a lot of money. Visa, merchandise license, getting venues, flights for band and crew, van rental, paying to get gear over. All that and they don't have as many US fans as UK or Germany.
Therefore they will lose a lot of money. Not, gain, not break even. We live in an anti-immgration world. Every thing involves expensive visas and paper work and bureaucracy. Including bands playing. Work visas are required.

I actually don't think Bush was actually evil. He was just stupid. I think Cheney is the one with the agenda. 

[Darkness]

I thought they were refused a visa in the 80's due to having no artistic merit. But the Exploited had no problem at the same time.

[Anna Woman von NRW]

I thought they were refused a visa in the 80's due to having no artistic merit. But the Exploited had no problem at the same time.

This

Obviously I have no idea if it's true but it was written in the program notes for NMA at Reading 89. I distinctly remember cos at that time I'd heard a couple of singles and those notes made me think " If the yanks think no artisitic merit then I gotta see them"  . I know how that reads and i'm sorry America but in my defence I was only 19 !!!!!! Is true though. and if it helps it was the start of a 26 year beautiful 'thang 

Oh - The Pogues were awful, Bernard Sumner can't sing (mind you I did passout during their set so that may just be me), The Mission were brilliant but NMA killed it 

[Master Ray]

I also remember the 'no artistic merit' story... hmm, they were quite happy to let plenty of drug-addled shit UK bands through eh?  I suspect an ulterior motive...

But Anna, 'The Pogues were awful' 

I'm seriously reviewing that hug I was promising you in Nottingham this Christmas...

 

 

[Rusco]

I thought they were refused a visa in the 80's due to having no artistic merit. But the Exploited had no problem at the same time.

Hehe, that was good.  Umm, well this reminds me about a NMA review I saw in Metal Hammer about their tour in States or Raw Melody Men review or something in start of 90's and they didn't get much appreciation in it. Their point was that "it was 90's not eighties and bla bla who'd still listen this kind of stuff." Oh boy, if we'll count how many of the brave new bands then are still a) alive, b) releasing new stuff, or c) really able to renew themselves? NMA are more kicking and alive now than ever. I'd like to bring the new stuff to that bloke and see his face.

[Master Ray]

I thought they were refused a visa in the 80's due to having no artistic merit. But the Exploited had no problem at the same time.

Hehe, that was good.  Umm, well this reminds me about a NMA review I saw in Metal Hammer about their tour in States or Raw Melody Men review or something in start of 90's and they didn't get much appreciation in it. Their point was that "it was 90's not eighties and bla bla who'd still listen this kind of stuff." Oh boy, if we'll count how many of the brave new bands then are still a) alive, b) releasing new stuff, or c) really able to renew themselves? NMA are more kicking and alive now than ever. I'd like to bring the new stuff to that bloke and see his face.

Couldn't agree more.. and I was well into my rock in the early 90's!

Never saw that review, but I'll bet I mentioned 'clogs', and 'dog on a string' somewhere...

Many of those bands seem to be doing comebacks nowadays to audiences far lower than what NMA are playing to...

[szmurf]

The Justin and Friends group toured the US quite extensively in 2003 or 2004 (during Bush) and the 30th shows were in 2010 right (Obama)?

Anyway, Bush 43 had nothing to do with the refusal of visas (it was either Bush 41 or Ronnie).  And I really doubt that anyone on either cabinet had anything to refusing them, probably due to lack of support of a label to grease the palm of some low level clerk.

Not that I like Bush 43.

[Stefanie225]

I thought they were refused a visa in the 80's due to having no artistic merit. But the Exploited had no problem at the same time.

Actually Unruh seems to be right, there are two stories of denied visas: the famous "no artistic merit" one in 1985, and another one in 2007. Apparently, the US "High" tour was cancelled because visas were denied, though no reason was given this time (the official statement is not on newmodelarmy.org any longer but quoted here: http://newmodelarmy.livejournal.com/40908.html. Janek, who lists every single NMA and JS concert on his site, also states that the US tour was cancelled: http://www.rawmelodymen.net/nmane/tour/tour-2007.htm). However, the tour took place in the spring of 2008 (http://www.rawmelodymen.net/nmane/tour/tour-2008.htm). So I guess it was more of an administrative muddle than censorship.

[Amandistan]

He may be right about the past but not the Bush thing. Who sits there and makes up such stories? is all I wonder.
I somehow doubt either Bush or Reagan had the time to deny one English band a visa to tour America.

[Stefanie225]

He may be right about the past but not the Bush thing. Who sits there and makes up such stories? is all I wonder.
I somehow doubt either Bush or Reagan had the time to deny one English band a visa to tour America.

Well, Unruh is right in that NMA were denied visas once during the Bush administration. He is probably wrong in assuming that they were banned for political reasons, as the official reason is simply unknown and as NMA were permitted to enter the US only half a year later, still during the Bush administration. But I said as much in my first post, if you care to read the complete thing. 

And thanks for your clarification, but I somehow doubt that anyone here on this message board believed that the American president himself grants or denies visas, to English bands or otherwise. 

[BlackCountryMaggiD]

As I understand it the High tour was postponed not because of Visa refusals but because of administrative errors that meant they couldn't be arranged in time.

[Mike]

I'd like to bring the new stuff to that bloke and see his face.

I shouldn't imagine he'd give a damn. There were actually quite a lot of people wanting to cover NMA in the UK in the 90s. Staff writers of repute at larger publications. The problems were twofold though - editors not feeling NMA were going to sell copies of the magazines and NMA not releasing any music for a time during the middle of the decade, specifically Causes-Brotherhood.

Those of us who did give them radio play and column inches didn't really get any feedback, positive or negative on them, certainly in comparison to other bands. So, you focus on the other bands after a point. I also worked from the PR and live promotion angles on NMA stuff at various points, conversely there was never a problem with getting people into gigs as far as I saw. In particular the 'comeback' gig at Shepherd's Bush in the late 90s was positively throbbing and there were writers from all over the place crammed in the aftershow, all very pleased with what they'd seen.

It's not been a symbiotic relationship between NMA and the media for a very, very long time. Neither seems to need the other much at all. I'm sure fans would like to see more coverage but there it is.

[Ron B]

 I do remember the problem with the work visas when they were going to tour here I missed that year of shows. As for what happened before that . I do not know I do know from 2006 to 2010 when they had the 30th anniversary shows I did not miss a show here in NYC. It was a rare treat to see them and I had gone years thinking they had broken up. You did not hear them on the radio ( This is before internet). and you did not see them on any Video music shows (MTV) was and still is crap. so with no radio or video play the normal assumption is they broke up.

When I got  my 1st computer in 2000 one of the 1st things I did was type in NMA and the 1st thing I got was a solo JS  concert just him and a guitar singing Better than them. Then going thru their discography I saw that the band was still around  just playing more and touring in Europe .